Multimedia entertainment unit for use in a vehicle

ABSTRACT

There is provided an entertainment unit for a vehicle. The unit includes an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle. A bus is adapted to couple at least one of video and audio signals from each of a plurality of input devices. At least one display device, houseable in the assembly and operatively coupled to the bus, is adapted to reproduce the video signals. At least one wireless transmitter operatively coupled to the bus, is adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs to a plurality of wireless headphone sets. The at least one wireless transmitter includes at least one multiplexor adapted to select a specific input device whose audio output is to be wirelessly transmitted to a given one of the plurality of wireless headphone sets. The at least one wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelessly transmit the plurality of audio programs to each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets as a left audio channel and a right audio channel, each of the channels having a different frequency for each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets. Alternatively, the at least one wireless transmitter may be adapted to transmit the plurality of audio programs based upon Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology.

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates generally to vehicles and, inparticular, to a multimedia entertainment unit for use in a vehicle.

BACKGROUND DESCRIPTION

[0002] As cars have been continuously updated to include new and usefulfeatures for the enjoyment and/or utility of a driver and his or herpassengers, devices generally found,in the home have made their way intocars as optional features. Such features include the television, thevideo cassette player (VCP), the compact disk (CD) player, and thedigital video disk (DVD) player. These features undoubtably provideenjoyment and/or utility to the driver and/or passengers of a vehicle.For example, children may become occupied by, for example, watching amovie and, thus, may leave the driver better able to concentrate onoperating the vehicle. Moreover, passengers in a vehicle undertaking along journey may better pass the time by viewing a movie. However, ithas generally been the case that only one particular type of media canbe played at a given time in a given vehicle. For example, only onemovie may be played at a given time in a given vehicle, and suchplayback is to the exclusion of any other media sources such as, e.g.,the radio. This is true for a variety of reasons. One such reason isthat the movie playing device (e.g., VCP and DVD player) is typicallycoupled to the existing speaker system of the vehicle, thus allowingonly one media source to be played back through the speakers at anygiven time. Another such reason is that it is difficult for a person tofollow the play back of a particular audio media source when anotheraudio media source is simultaneously being played back.

[0003] Thus, if the occupants of the vehicle have differing tastes withrespect to, for example, movies and/or music, then not all of thepassengers will be satisfied by what is audibly and/or visiblyreproduced at any given time. Accordingly, there is a need for amultimedia entertainment unit for a vehicle which allows for a pluralityof passengers to each watch and/or listen to a different media.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] The problems stated above, as well as other related problems ofthe prior art, are solved by the present invention, a multimediaentertainment unit for a vehicle.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the invention, there is providedan entertainment unit for a vehicle. The unit includes an assemblyhousing adapted to mount against an interior surface (preferably theroof) of the vehicle. A bus is adapted to couple at least one of videoand audio signals from each of a plurality of input devices. At leastone display device, houseable in the assembly and operatively coupled tothe bus, is adapted to reproduce the video signals. At least onewireless transmitter operatively coupled to the bus, is adapted towirelessly and simultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs toa plurality of wireless headphone sets.

[0006] According to a second aspect of the invention, the wirelesssignals are at least one of radio frequency and infrared signals.

[0007] According to a third aspect of the invention, the plurality ofinput devices include at least one of a television tuner, a videocassette player (VCP), a compact (CD) player, a digital video disk (DVD)player, an AM/FM radio, and a video game player.

[0008] According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the plurality ofinput devices include an external audio/video signal processor adaptedto input at least one of the audio signals and the video signals from anexternal source.

[0009] According to a fifth aspect of the invention, the external sourceis a portable media device.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect of the invention, the unit furtherincludes signal processing facilities adapted to perform at least one ofsignal processing and signal conversion, with respect to at least one ofthe audio signals and the video signals.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect of the invention, the signalprocessing facilities are adapted to perform at least one of digitalsignal processing, encoding, decoding, encrypting, decrypting,compressing, decompressing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC),digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), and error correction.

[0012] According to an eighth aspect of the invention, the at least onedisplay device is mounted in the entertainment in one of a non-fixedconfiguration and a fixed configuration.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect of the invention, the at least onedisplay device employs one of a liquid crystal display (LCD), lightemitting diodes (LEDs), and a gas plasma.

[0014] According to a tenth aspect of the invention, the liquid crystaldisplay is based upon one of active matrix technology and passive matrixtechnology.

[0015] According to an eleventh aspect of the invention, the at leastone display device employs touch screen technology.

[0016] According to a twelfth aspect of the invention, the at least onedisplay device includes one of picture-in-picture and split screencapability.

[0017] According to a thirteenth aspect of the invention, the at leastone wireless transmitter includes at least one multiplexor adapted toselect a specific input device whose audio output is to be wirelesslytransmitted to a given one of the plurality of wireless headphone sets.

[0018] According to a fourteenth aspect of the invention, the at leastone wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelessly transmit the pluralityof audio programs to each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets asa left audio channel and a right audio channel.

[0019] According to a fifteenth aspect of the invention, the left audiochannel and the right audio channel correspond to different frequencies.

[0020] According to a sixteenth aspect of the invention, the at leastone wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelessly transmit the pluralityof audio programs to each of the plurality of wireless headphone sets asa left audio channel and a right audio channel, each of the channelshaving a different frequency for each of the plurality of wirelessheadphone sets.

[0021] According to a seventeenth aspect of the invention, the buscomprises a video bus and an audio bus.

[0022] According to an eighteenth aspect of the invention, the video busis coupled to the display device and the audio bus is coupled to the atleast one wireless transmitter.

[0023] According to a nineteenth aspect of the invention, the at leastone wireless transmitter includes an optical transmitting device and atleast some of said plurality of wireless headphone sets include aphotosensitive device.

[0024] According to a twentieth aspect of the invention, the at leastone wireless transmitter and at least some of the plurality of wirelessheadphone sets include an antenna.

[0025] These and other aspects, features and advantages of the presentinvention will become apparent from the following detailed descriptionof preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with theaccompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026]FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating the elements of anentertainment unit 100 according to an illustrative embodiment of theinvention;

[0027]FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the elements of anentertainment unit 500 according to another illustrative embodiment ofthe invention;

[0028]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the wireless transmitter 128interacting with the wireless headphone set 152 based on optical and/orRF transmission, according to an illustrative embodiment of theinvention; and

[0029]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an overhead entertainmentunit 300 according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0030] It is to be understood that the present invention may beimplemented in various forms of hardware, software, firmware, specialpurpose processors, or a combination thereof. Preferably, the presentinvention is implemented as a combination of both hardware and software,the software being an application program tangibly embodied on a programstorage device. The application program may be uploaded to, and executedby, a machine comprising any suitable architecture. The machine may beimplemented on a computer platform having hardware such as one or morecentral processing units (CPU), a random access memory (RAM), andinput/output (I/O) interface(s). The computer platform may also includean operating system and microinstruction code. The various processes andfunctions described herein may either be part of the microinstructioncode or part of the application program (or a combination thereof) whichis executed via the operating system. In addition, various otherperipheral devices may be connected to the computer platform such as anadditional data storage device.

[0031] It is to be further understood that, because some of theconstituent system components depicted in the accompanying Figures maybe implemented in software, the actual connections between the systemcomponents may differ depending upon the manner in which the presentinvention is programmed. Given the teachings herein, one of ordinaryskill in the related art will be able to contemplate these and similarimplementations or configurations of the present invention.

[0032] To facilitate a clear understanding of the present invention, abrief description of the invention will now be given, followed by a moredetailed description with respect to FIGS. 1-3. As noted above, theinvention is directed to a multimedia entertainment unit for a vehicle.The entertainment unit is mounted within the interior of the vehicle,such as, for example, on the vehicle floor or on a wall of the vehicle.However, it is preferable that the entertainment unit is mountedoverhead to the ceiling of the vehicle.

[0033] The invention allows a plurality of passengers in the vehicle toeach watch and/or listen to a different media. The capability ofallowing the plurality of passengers to watch, for example, differentmovies at the same time is achieved through the use of two or moredisplay devices and/or one or more display devices havingpicture-in-picture capability or split screen capability. The capabilityof allowing the plurality of passengers to hear, for example, thedifferent movies or a movie and a compact disk soundtrack at the sametime, is achieved through the use of a wireless transmitter and wirelessheadphones. As is known to one of ordinary skill in the related art, thewireless headphones will include a wireless receiver for receiving thewireless signals transmitted by the wireless transmitter.

[0034] The wireless signals can be any type of wireless signalincluding, but not limited to, radio frequency and infrared signals. Itis to be noted that the current transmission capability (bandwidth) ofinfrared signals is approximately 1.5 to 2.0 Mbits/sec, with a maximumprojected bandwidth of 16 Mbits/sec.

[0035]FIG. 1A is a block diagram illustrating the elements of anentertainment unit 100 according to an illustrative embodiment of theinvention. The entertainment unit 100 is ultimately installed in avehicle. The entertainment unit 100 includes at least one or anycombination of a display device (hereinafter “display device”) 112, a TVtuner 114, a video cassette player (VCP) 116, a digital video disk (DVD)player 118, a compact disk (CD) player 120, an amplitudemodulation/frequency modulation (AM/FM) radio 122, an externalaudio/video signal processor 124, a video game player 126, facilitiesfor performing signal processing and/or signal conversion 127(hereinafter “signal processing/conversion facilities”), a firstwireless transmitter 128, and a second wireless transmitter 130.

[0036] The TV tuner 114, the VCP 116, the DVD player 118, the CD player120, the AM/FM radio 122, the video game player 126, and the externalaudio/video signal processor 124 (in particular, any external devicecoupled to external audio/video signal processor 124) may also becollectively referred to herein as input devices 190. It is to beappreciated that the devices described above with respect to the inputdevices 190 are merely illustrative and, thus, other devices may also beemployed in accordance with the invention, while maintaining the spiritand scope thereof.

[0037] The first wireless transmitter 128 and the second wirelesstransmitter 130 each have multiplexing capabilities to enable theselection of a particular device (e.g., one of the input devices 190)whose audio signal is to be wirelessly transmitted. Selection is madethrough a SELECT (SEL) input. Of course, wireless transmitters withoutsuch multiplexing capabilities may also be used; however, in such acase, a separate multiplexor(s) would be coupled between suchtransmitters and the audio outputs of the input devices 190.

[0038] The elements of the entertainment unit 100 are intended tointeract with a first wireless headphone set 152 and a second wirelessheadphone set 154. It is to be appreciated that while the illustrativeembodiment of FIG. 1A is shown with two wireless headphone sets (i.e.,152, 154), the invention is not so limited and, thus, any number ofwireless headphone sets may be used in conjunction with the invention.For example, one or more headphones may be used (e.g., one wirelessheadphone set for each passenger).

[0039] The first wireless transmitter 128 and the second wirelesstransmitter 130 transmit wireless signals to the first wirelessheadphone set 152 and the second wireless headphone set 154,respectively. Of course, other configurations are possible whichmaintain the spirit and scope of the invention, as readily contemplatedby one of ordinary skill in the related art.

[0040] The elements of the entertainment unit 100 may be connected byone or more buses. Such bus(es) may be completely or partially containedwithin the unit 100. In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1A, a videobus 170 and an audio bus 172 are used. The video bus 170 couples videosignals output from the elements of the entertainment unit 100 to thedisplay device 112. The audio bus 172 couples audio signals output fromthe elements of the entertainment unit 100 to the wireless transmitters128 and 130.

[0041] An antenna 136 may be located within the entertainment unit 100or may more likely be located external thereto. For example, antenna 136may be the original antenna included in the vehicle, which is typicallyused to receive frequencies associated with AM/FM radio stations andtelevision stations. Such an antenna is typically located in thewindshield or protruding from the exterior of the vehicle. Moreover,antenna 136 may be a special purpose antenna, capability of receivingfrequencies corresponding to, for example, satellite communications froma satellite or satellite network. The satellite communications mayinclude movies and other media types (e.g., music and so forth). In anyevent, the antenna 136 is coupled to the entertainment unit 100. In theillustrative embodiment of FIG. 1A, the antenna 136 is simply coupled tothe TV tuner 114 and the AM/FM radio 122. If satellite or othercommunication are desired, the antenna would likely be coupled to thesignal processing/conversion facilities 127 which would performfunctions such as demodulating, signal discrimination, and signalsplitting, prior to providing the appropriate signal(s) (video and/oraudio) to the appropriate reproduction device (display device 112 and/orwireless headphone sets 152, 154).

[0042] The external audio/video signal processor 124 is employed toreceive signals from an external device (i.e., one not included in theentertainment unit 100) so as to couple the external device to theentertainment unit 100 for reproduction of the signals output therefrom.Such external devices include handheld video games, handheld TV's,portable DVD players, portable CD players, and so forth.

[0043] It is to be appreciated that in other embodiments of theinvention, the external audio/video signal processor 124 may be includedas part of the signal processing/conversion facilities 127, the latterbeing described in further detail hereinbelow.

[0044] It is to be understood that some of the elements shown in FIG. 1Amay be included in the unit entertainment 100, in compartments comprisedtherein (not shown), or they may be separate from the entertainment unit100 but nonetheless intended to interact with the entertainment unit100.

[0045] It is to be appreciated that the display device 112 is notlimited to any particular kind of display device. Accordingly, displaydevices may be used which include, but are not limited to, liquidcrystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diodes (LEDs), and gas plasma.It is to further appreciated that any variations of the aforementionedtypes of displays may be used. For example, with respect to liquidcrystal displays, active matrix (e.g., thin film transistor) technologyor passive matrix (e.g., dual scan) technology may be employed. Thedisplay device 112 may also employ touch screen technology, so thatusers can interact with the console by either touching the screen orplacing a specified device (e.g., electrostatic pen) near the screen. Ina preferred embodiment of the invention, a liquid crystal display isemployed which uses active matrix technology.

[0046] In the case of more than one display device, two or moredifferent input devices 190 (e.g., the DVD player 118 and the TV tuner114) may be input to the display devices. In such a case, additionalmultiplexors (not shown) may be employed to determine which displaydevice is to reproduce a particular video signal from a plurality ofvideo signals. Moreover, one or more display devices havingpicture-in-picture capability or split screen capability may beemployed. Given the teachings of the invention provided herein, one ofordinary skill in the related art will contemplate these and variousother variations and configurations of the elements of the invention,while maintaining the spirit and the scope thereof.

[0047] The input devices 190 may be located within the entertainmentunit 100 or some or all of the input devices 190 may be located externalto the entertainment unit 100. In any event, the input devices 190should be coupled to the entertainment unit 100, either directly orthrough the external audio/video signal processor 124. In particular,video outputs (if any) of the input devices 190 should ultimately beconnected to the video bus 170 and audio outputs (if any) of the inputdevices 190 should ultimately be connected to the audio bus 172 (orcorresponding inputs (not shown) of the external audio/video signalprocessor 124).

[0048] The signal processing/conversion facilities 127 may perform suchprocessing/conversion prior to the video signals being provided to thedisplay device 112 and the audio signals being provided to the wirelesstransmitters 128 and 130. Of course, other arrangements are possible,including having separate signal processing/conversion facilities forthe video signals and the audio signals.

[0049] The signal processing/conversion facilities 127 may include, butare not limited to, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), and facilities forperforming encoding/decoding, encrypting/decrypting,compressing/decompressing, analog-to-digital conversion (ADC),digital-to-analog conversion (DAC), error correction, and filtering.Such error correction may include, but is not limited to, CyclicRedundancy Checking (CRC), Error Correction Code or Error Checking andCorrecting (ECC), checksum, and so forth. With respect to, for example,encoding/decoding, encrypting/decrypting, and compressing/decompressing,the former of each pair may be performed by any of the input devices (ora device coupled to the external audio/video signal processor) and thelatter is performed by the signal processing/conversion facilities 127.

[0050] It is to be noted that the wireless signals may be encoded toprevent interference between the two wireless headphone sets 152, 154.Such encoding may be based on technologies such as, for example, spreadspectrum technology.

[0051] In many cases, the facilities described above may be implementedby one or more codecs. In other cases, additional and/or other circuitrymay be required. It is to be appreciated that one of ordinary skill inthe related art will contemplate these and various other facilities forperforming signal processing and/or signal conversion, while maintainingthe spirit and scope of the invention.

[0052]FIG. 1B is a block diagram illustrating the elements of anentertainment unit 500 according to another illustrative embodiment ofthe invention. Similar to the entertainment unit 100 of FIG. 1A, theentertainment unit 500 of FIG. 1B is ultimately installed in a vehicle.

[0053] The entertainment unit 500 includes at least one or anycombination of a display device (hereinafter “display device”) 112, a TVtuner 114, a VCP 116, a DVD player 118, a CD player 120, an AM/FM radio122, an external audio/video signal processor 124, a video game player126, signal processing/conversion facilities 127, and a wirelesstransmitter 510.

[0054] Similar to the entertainment unit 100 of FIG. 1A, theentertainment unit 500 of FIG. 1B is intended to interact with aplurality of wireless headphone sets. For illustrative purposes, thefirst wireless headphone set 152 and the second wireless headphone set154 are shown.

[0055] It is to be appreciated that the main difference between theentertainment unit 100 of FIG. 1A and the entertainment unit 500 of FIG.1B is that the first and the second wireless transmitters 128, 130 havebeen replaced by the wireless transmitter 510 of FIG. 1B, the latter forwirelessly transmitting signals based upon Code-Division Multiple Access(CDMA) technology. The coding and other related operations may beperformed by the wireless transmitter 510 and/or by the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 127. In any event, the requisitecircuitry for implementing CDMA technology would be required both on thetransmission end (the entertainment unit) and the receiving end (thewireless headphone sets). Such circuitry may include, for example,convolutional encoders, Walsh code generators and PN (pseudo randomnumber) sequence generators, combiners, modulators, de-modulators,correlators, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), analog-to-digitalconverters (ADCs), and so forth. Given the teachings of the inventionprovided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will readilycontemplate the elements required to implement CDMA in an entertainmentsystem according to the invention, while maintaining the spirit andscope thereof.

[0056] It is to be appreciated that the use of CDMA technology enables asingle transmitter (i.e., wireless transmitter 510) to transmit allprograms simultaneously, with a user being able to select the program heor she intends to hear via a selector located on, for example, his orher wireless headphone set. Moreover, the use of CDMA technology enablesall of the available frequency bandwidth to be used, whilesimultaneously minimizing interference.

[0057] According to one illustrative embodiment of the invention, theaudio programs may be pre-stored in a memory system such thatpre-specified memory locations are used to store specific audio programs(i.e., a pre-defined mapping). Of course, a dynamic mapping approach mayalso be employed. In either case, a memory addressing scheme may be usedto write the programs into memory and read them therefrom. A processorand governing program or operating system may be employed to control thememory operations. The processor, governing program or operating system,and memory system may be implemented as part of the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 127, the wireless transmitter 510, acombination thereof, or separately as independent elements of theentertainment unit 500. Of course, other arrangements are possible andreadily contemplated by one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0058] It is to be appreciated that the audio programs need not bestored but may be directly processed by, e.g., the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 127 and/or the wireless transmitter 510in real-time (or with slight delay) for the purposes of transmitting inCDMA format. Given the teachings of the invention provided herein, oneof ordinary skill in the related art will contemplate these and variousother arrangements for implementing the invention, while maintaining thespirit and scope thereof.

[0059] In the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 1B, the wireless signals(audio programs) are shown transmitted in two distinct ways. In thefirst approach 550, the left and right audio channels of each of theplurality of audio programs are transmitted as separate streams. In thesecond approach 560, the left and right audio channels of each of theplurality of audio programs are combined onto a single stream. In thelatter case, separation of the channels is performed in the wirelessheadphone sets. In any event, the plurality of audio programs are thencombined, superimposed onto a carrier frequency, and transmitted by thewireless transmitter 510 for receipt by the wireless headphone sets.These and various other ways in which to transmit a plurality of audioprograms to a plurality of wireless headphones sets may be readilycontemplated and implemented by those of ordinary skill in the art,while maintaining the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0060]FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the wireless transmitter 128interacting with the wireless headphone set 152 based on optical and/orRF transmission, according to an illustrative embodiment of theinvention. It is to be appreciated that the following description isalso applicable to the wireless transmitters 130 and/or 510. Thewireless transmitter 128 includes an optical transmitting device 212(e.g., an LED, a laser, and so forth) and an antenna 214. The wirelessheadphone set 152 includes a photosensitive device 252 (e.g., aphototransistor, a solar cell(s), a SEED (self-optic effect device), andso forth) and an antenna 254. The optical transmitting device 212 andthe photosensitive device 252 are used for wireless transmission andreception of optical signals, respectively. The antenna 214 and theantenna 254 are used for wireless transmission and reception of RFsignals, respectively.

[0061] In the case of wireless optical transmission, the opticaltransmitting device 212 wirelessly transmits optical (digital) signalsto the wireless headphone set 152 by pulsing its light output (e.g., offequals a zero (0) and on equals a one (1)). The photosensitive device252 in the wireless headphone set 152 detects the optical signalswirelessly transmitted by the optical transmitting device 212.

[0062] The wireless headphone set 152 also includes a digital-to-analogconverter (DAC) 256 for converting the digital signals into analogsignals. The analog signals are then provided to a left channel speaker282 and a right channel speaker 284 either directly or after processingby another signal processing/conversion facilities 197. For example, inthe latter case, the DAC 256 may simply convert the wireless digitalsignal to a composite analog signal, which is then separated by theother signal processing/conversion facilities 197 into right and leftaudio channels (when the DAC 256 is separate from the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 197). Other processing by the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 197 may include, for example, filteringof the analog signals.

[0063] It is to be appreciated that different frequencies may be usedfor right channels and left channels. For example, as shown in FIG. 1A,the wireless headphone set 152 receives a left channel audio signalcorresponding to 2.3 MHz and a right channel audio signal correspondingto 2.8 MHz, while the wireless headphone set 154 receives a left channelaudio signal corresponding to 2.5 MHz and a right channel audio signalcorresponding to 3.0 MHz. Such an arrangement allows for more than onewireless headphone set to be actively used without frequencyinterference therebetween. Given the teachings of the invention providedherein, one of ordinary skill in the related art will contemplate theseand other approaches for facilitating wireless transmission between thewireless transmitters 128, 130 and the wireless headphone sets 152, 154while maintaining the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0064] It is to be appreciated that a processor 276 may be used tocontrol the functions of the DAC 256 and the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 197. It is to be further appreciatedthat the DAC 256 may be separate from (as shown) or part of the signalprocessing/conversion facilities 197.

[0065] The preceding description regarding the functions of the DAC 256and the signal processing/conversion facilities 197 may also be appliedin the case of RF transmission. In such a case, the transmission andreception functions of the optical transmitting device 212 and thephotosensitive device 252 are replaced by those of the antennas 214 and254, respectively. That is, the antenna 214 is used to wirelesslytransmit an RF signal which is then received by the antenna 254. Amodulator/demodulator may be included or associated with the antennas214 and 254 to perform such functions as are known to one of ordinaryskill in the related art.

[0066] Given the teachings of the invention provided herein, one ofordinary skill in the related art will contemplate these and otheroptical transmitting devices, photosensitive devices, and configurationsof the elements of the invention which allow for the transmission andreception of any type of wireless signal (e.g.,analog and digital) andappropriate processing/conversion to facilitate reproduction of thecontent of the wireless signals provided by the wireless transmitters128, 130.

[0067] The preceding description of the entertainment units 100 and 500have primarily focused on features that may be included in these unitsto enhance the operation thereof. A description of mounting arrangementsfor the entertainment units 100 and 500 will now be given.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment of the invention, the entertainmentunit is mounted overhead to the ceiling of the vehicle. However, it isto appreciated that the invention is not limited to the precedingmounting arrangement and, thus, other mounting arrangements may beemployed while maintaining the spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, the entertainment unit may be mounted on the vehicle floor, awall of the vehicle, and so forth.

[0069] Moreover, in the preferred embodiment of the present invention,the display device 112 of the entertainment unit is mounted in a flipfashion. That is, the display device 112 is flipped-down when in use,and flipped-up when not in use. Alternatively, the display device 112may be mounted prominently in the entertainment unit so as to constantlybe in the view of the occupants of the vehicle.

[0070]FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an overhead entertainmentunit 300 according to the preferred embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3is shown with the minimum number of elements, so that the mountingarrangement of the display is emphasized.

[0071] In the embodiment of FIG. 3, the entertainment unit 300 ismounted overhead and the display device 112 is mounted in a flipconfiguration. The entertainment unit 300 includes input devices 190,the display device 112, the first wireless transmitter 128 and thesecond wireless transmitter 130. The video signals from the inputdevices 190 are provided to the display device 112 by the video bus 170.The audio signals from the input devices 190 are provided to a splitter367 by the audio bus 172. The splitter 367 splits the audio signals sothat the audio signals may be provided to both the first wirelesstransmitter 128 and the second wireless transmitter 130.

[0072] While the buses (170, 172) shown in FIG. 3 are simplyaggregations of wires carrying similar types of signals, other types ofbuses may be employed. For example, one or more wires or other signaltransmission means may be used for each of the audio and the videosignals, with the signals being multiplexed with respect to, forexample, time, frequency, or codes. Given the teachings of the inventionprovided herein, one of ordinary skill in the related art willcontemplate these and various other implementations of a bus, whilemaintaining the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0073] Associated with the entertainment unit 300 of FIG. 3 are thefirst wireless headphone set 152 and the second wireless headphone set154 (not shown). The display device 112 is mounted so as to flip down(e.g., 90 degrees) along the y-axis. However, it is to be appreciatedthat while the entertainment unit of FIG. 3 employs a display devicewith flip up/down capability, the display device may fixed (i.e., of thenon-flip type) in other embodiments of the invention.

[0074] Although FIG. 3 illustrates the entertainment unit being mountedagainst the interior roof of the vehicle, the entertainment unit mayalso be mounted against the front portion of the vehicle or acombination of the roof and the front portion of the vehicle.

[0075] In addition to the elements of the entertainment units describedabove, such units may include controls for other elements/systems of thevehicle such as controls for the air conditioning and heating systems.

[0076] Although the illustrative embodiments have been described hereinwith reference to the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood thatthe present system and method is not limited to those preciseembodiments, and that various other changes and modifications may beaffected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from thescope or spirit of the invention. All such changes and modifications areintended to be included within the scope of the invention as defined bythe appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. An entertainment unit for a vehicle, comprising:an assembly housing adapted to mount against an interior surface of thevehicle; a bus adapted to couple at least one of video and audio signalsfrom each of a plurality of input devices; at least one display device,houseable in said assembly and operatively coupled to said bus, adaptedto reproduce the video signals; and at least one wireless transmitteroperatively coupled to said bus, adapted to wirelessly andsimultaneously transmit a plurality of audio programs to a plurality ofwireless headphones.
 2. The entertainment unit according to claim 1,wherein the wireless signals are at least one of radio frequency andinfrared signals.
 3. The entertainment unit according to claim 1,wherein the plurality of input devices comprise at least one of atelevision tuner, a video cassette player (VCP), a compact disk (CD)player, a digital video disk (DVD) player, an AM/FM radio, and a videogame player.
 4. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein theplurality of input devices comprises an external audio/video signalprocessor adapted to input at least one of the audio signals and thevideo signals from an external source.
 5. The entertainment unitaccording to claim 4, wherein the external source is a portable mediadevice.
 6. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, furthercomprising signal processing facilities adapted to perform at least oneof signal processing and signal conversion, with respect to at least oneof the audio signals and the video signals.
 7. The entertainment unitaccording to claim 6, wherein said signal processing facilities areadapted to perform at least one of digital signal processing, encoding,decoding, encrypting, decrypting, compressing, decompressinganalog-to-digital conversion (ADC), digital-to-analog conversion (DAC),and error correction.
 8. The entertainment unit according to claim 1,wherein said at least one display device is mounted in saidentertainment unit in one of a non-fixed configuration and a fixedconfiguration.
 9. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one display device employs one of a liquid crystal display(LCD), light emitting diodes (LEDs), and a gas plasma.
 10. Theentertainment unit according to claim 9, wherein said liquid crystaldisplay is based upon one of active matrix technology and passive matrixtechnology.
 11. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one display device employs touch screen technology. 12.The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least onedisplay device includes one of picture-in-picture and split screencapability.
 13. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, whereinsaid at least one wireless transmitter comprises at least onemultiplexor adapted to select a specific input device whose audio outputis to be wirelessly transmitted to a given one of the plurality ofwireless headphone sets.
 14. The entertainment unit according to claim1, wherein said at least one wireless transmitter is adapted towirelessly transmit the plurality of audio programs to each of theplurality of wireless headphone sets as a left audio channel and a rightaudio channel.
 15. The entertainment unit according to claim 14, whereinthe left audio channel and the right audio channel correspond todifferent frequencies.
 16. The entertainment unit according to claim 1,wherein said at least one wireless transmitter is adapted to wirelesslytransmit the plurality of audio programs to each of the plurality ofwireless headphone sets as a left audio channel and a right audiochannel, each of the channels having a different frequency for each ofthe plurality of wireless headphone sets.
 17. The entertainment unitaccording to claim 1, wherein said bus comprises a video bus and anaudio bus.
 18. The entertainment unit according to claim 17, whereinsaid video bus is coupled to said display device and said audio bus iscoupled to said at least one wireless transmitter.
 19. The entertainmentunit according to claim 1, wherein said at least one wirelesstransmitter comprises an optical transmitting device and at least someof said plurality of wireless headphone sets comprise a photosensitivedevice.
 20. The entertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said atleast one wireless transmitter and at least some of said plurality ofwireless headphone sets comprise an antenna.
 21. The entertainment unitaccording to claim 1, wherein at least some of said plurality ofwireless headphone sets comprise a digital-to-analog converter.
 22. Theentertainment unit according to claim 1, wherein said at least onewireless transmitter is adapted to transmit the plurality of audioprograms based on Code-Division Multiple Access (CDMA) technology. 23.The entertainment unit according to claim 22, further comprising signalprocessing facilities, and wherein at least some CDMA operations areperformed by said signal processing facilities.
 24. The entertainmentunit according to claim 22, wherein left audio channels and right audiochannels of the plurality of audio programs are coded separately. 25.The entertainment unit according to claim 22, wherein each of theplurality of wireless headphone sets comprises a selector for selectingone of the plurality of audio programs for audio reproduction.
 26. Theentertainment unit according to claim 22, wherein each of the pluralityof wireless headphone sets comprises at least one of a Walsh codegenerator and pseudo random number (PN) sequence generator for decodingthe plurality of audio programs.
 27. An entertainment unit for avehicle, comprising: an assembly housing adapted to mount against aninterior surface of the vehicle; a video bus adapted to couple videosignals from at least some of a plurality of input devices; an audio busadapted to couple audio signals from at least some of the plurality ofinput devices; at least one display device, houseable in said assemblyand operatively coupled to said video bus, adapted to reproduce thevideo signals; and a wireless transmitter operatively coupled to saidaudio bus, adapted to wirelessly and simultaneously transmit a pluralityof audio programs to a plurality of wireless headphone sets.
 28. Anentertainment unit for a vehicle, comprising: an assembly housingadapted to mount against an interior surface of the vehicle; a busadapted to couple audio signals from at least two input devices; and awireless transmitter operatively coupled to said bus, adapted towirelessly and simultaneously transmit the audio signals to at least twowireless headphone sets, so that each wireless headphone set receives anaudio signal from a different one of the at least two input devices.